pink polo shirt. The sockless feet in his matching, pale pink chucks amused me.
Still, his outfit worried me until he looked back and forth between us with a welcoming, yet slightly uncertain smile, as if he couldn't figure out who to greet first and wanted to get it right. Despite his fashion choices, the dude wasn’t a little rich prick douchecanoe.
And hey, I had to admit the pink worked against his bronze skin and coal-black hair. I wouldn’t be messing around with anyone in my new pack—even an avowed manwhore like me knew better than to shit where he ate—but if I met him in a bar, I would’ve offered to buy the cutie a drink.
He was still trying to make up his mind when Ash was kind enough to come to his rescue. "Perfect timing, Raul. I was about to escort your new Alpha inside. Now I can leave him in your hands and get going to my next stop. Alpha Lucian Smith, I'd like to introduce you to the Tehachapi Pack Beta. This is Raul Ramirez. Anything you need, this is your guy. And his parents, but you'll meet them soon enough, I'm sure."
Grinning, Raul took the hand I extended, his white, toothy smile nearly blinding in the midday sun. I made a point to keep my grip firm but not overwhelming. No need to grind my alpha status in or be a dick, especially if I wanted to start off on the right foot.
"Nice to meet you, Raul. Give it to me straight. Am I walking into chaos since I killed your former alpha, or is the pack okay with my being here?" I figured it was better to address the elephant in the room, namely the now-deceased Bart Macklebee III, before things went any further.
Quickly shaking his head, still smiling, Raul seemed perfectly fine with the unexpected change in leadership. Amusingly, he talked as fast as he drove, dropping information in a huge dump for me.
"No chaos here. Not at all, Alpha. We’re ashamed to know what Alpha Macklebee did. To attack another pack is an act of war. We’re a peaceful community, so it came as a shock. Sure, a few people cashed out and left, but I think you'll find the majority of us are excited for the change. Alpha Macklebee was more of the governor than a hands-on pack alpha. Not to speak ill of the dead," he paused to cross himself, "but it was time for a change. The Macklebees, from what I know, were never the most involved. My parents are excited and hoping to see us become a real pack, rather than loosely connected neighbors who work at the same place and share the shifter gene."
"Damn, you gave me a bit more honesty than I was expecting at the front gate." I could already tell this was a guy I could be friends with, preppy or not. "How are you guys not a real pack, if you don't mind my asking?"
Ash stood quietly listening, obviously enjoying the chance to learn new information. Surprises weren't something a territory chief looked forward to learning about a pack under his purview.
Raul took a moment to consider his response, making me respect him that much more. "Like anyone else, we have a Gamma Council. But they've had no power. They're mostly there to vote on dispersing funds and deal with municipal issues. We don't have a delta force, although every adult male is trained to defend the winery when necessary. But, to be fair, we haven't been attacked by another pack in over forty years. Our biggest drama here is when a guest overdoes it in the tasting room. It's… I don't know. You'll see what I mean. We don't have the same connection I’ve heard about with other packs."
Even though I'd never officially been part of a pack, aside from the West Coast Wolves, I knew what he was talking about. The draw to pack living was the connection and sense of community. A pack without heart was nothing. It was simply a nice enough life spent among a group of people who lived and worked together but shared nothing more.
Strangely enough, learning this completely dropped any lingering reservations. From the sounds of it, the pack might really need an alpha like me. Maybe this would be as good a change for them as I was hoping for.
Since I was shirtless under my cut, I opened the left side of my leather vest